. . . or disclosure – the world did not end.
Saturday, Dec 15 Left you earlier in the day on my way to town in a snowstorm. It was not bad driving but I had to be careful because I knew there was ice beneath the compacted snow. It was a nice afternoon. Five folks showed up with instruments, 2 guitars, a mandolin, a viola, and a violin. In addition, the wife of our recently deceased member came to sit with us and sing Christmas carols and a few other sing-along songs. The residents entered into the singing and one danced to our last song – Jambalaya, and as there is good food mentioned therein, they fed us.
[John’s bringing-up neighborhood contained a ‘Yvonne’, as does the song. Not the same one, and he claims the Cajun’s had better food, too.]
http://www.cajunradio.org/wordscajun3.html
They fed us a wonderful spread including hot cider, a great (made from scratch) chicken noodle soup with large pieces of chicken and little cut-up carrots. It was excellent. Along with it was a table of meats, crackers, cheeses, fresh veggies, and my favorite, deviled eggs. There was zucchini-pecan-pineapple bread (by Bill), 5 different Christmas cookies by Lee (who also made the soup), and some other desserts I didn’t try. It was snowing when I left so I gave a ride to one of the women (named Nan), who lives several buildings over. Then I needed to get gasoline in the ‘09 Subaru, because when I left, there was only enough to get to town, and the fill light was on brightly. Worked more today on a job reference for a former student. Got to talk to a good friend who has been going through medical challenges. It was great hearing his voice and hearing he was improving.
Sunday, Dec 16 It’s Sunday morning. My eye is a little better, but I will have to be careful today. If it starts scratching, I will lie down and rest it after putting some medication ointment in it. It has snowed another couple of inches (still coming down a little), and we slept in till after 8:00 a.m. Not going anywhere today. The Bluegrass Jam is an hour away (in good weather) toward the Cascades and they have a 90% chance of snow. It can get very messy and dangerous on the roads and up the hilly entrance once there, so we will just stay home. It also goes from 2:00 to 4:30 so it’s too early to feed before leaving and dark for the whole trip back, plus John’s having to feed horses and outside cats with lights. Spent our time home on at least two long distance phone calls. First was to my long-time childhood friend south of Atlanta, who is ill with fibromyalgia and arthritis, and has lost 95% of her hearing in one ear and all in the other. Second, to John’s sister Peggy in OH. Now to finish our annual newsletter, which John began this morning. The way John began it, it should be posted before Dec 21 (the Solstice). Therefore, I will be busy the next few days. Already started but so much yet to do. Tonight’s dinner was an omelet with cheese and onions. We had bacon and potatoes on the side. Tonight for dessert, we’ll have pecan pie and strawberries, possibly with ice cream.
Monday, Dec 17 Today we awoke to some excitement. I was up early, let the dogs out, and talked to Rascal. He didn’t come into the den for the canned food I put out, but apparently went out the doggie door instead. I decided to lie back down for some more shuteye. Finally, we got up a little over an hour later, and were fixing toast and coffee when he came in through the doggie door (he uses it better than the dogs, who have to be urged from the outside to come in), and into the den, carrying a large blue Stellar Jay. John reached down, scooped him up, and, thinking the bird dead, threw them both out the back patio door, into the snow. (We had about 5 inches from yesterday — only half as much as friends did west of Yakima who got 10″. It wasn’t but a moment before Rascal ran around to the entry and came back inside with the bird. John then scooped him up and put him out the front door, with the bird escaping and flying into the Mt. Ash tree. Rascal stayed in for awhile, giving us a piece of his mind, but left again, through the doggie door (opposite side of the house) and made his way around and into the fenced front yard. Then he climbed the tree where he last saw the bird. The jay was long gone, but Rascal inspected the tree anyway, searching for him. Yesterday he’d been in the same tree going after starlings that were eating the berries. He caught the Jay apparently from the rear, while the bird was eating spilled dry cat food on the hay bales. How he got him over the fence and into the house is beyond me. We figure his mouth is not big enough to chew and kill him. Perhaps he was going to bring him in to under the bed to get a better hold on him. (We wonder) who knows? The wind has been blowing all day, sun shining, and temperatures descending. It is supposed to be quite cold tonight. John has been winterizing more things outside and also moving snow. I’ve mainly been working on the annual greetings newsletter. Decided with a colleague we will share going to meetings of the Kittitas County Timothy Hay Growers and Suppliers annual meeting. I am going to the 11:00 panel discussion on the topic: current trends, future markets. John has to go to the dentist for his teeth cleaning but is being forced to go to a part of the hay conference.
Tuesday, Dec 18 Today was wild. We left at 10:25 for the County fairgrounds for the hay meeting that included an 11:00 to 11:30 part I was planning for. It was late starting and John had an appt at the dentist at noon. He left at 11:30 while they were drawing prize numbers and setting up for the panel discussion. He walked (9 blocks, ~ 1 mi.) to the dentist. I stayed and left just after 12:35. John was just about ready to come out of the chair. Then off to eat at McDonald’s and on to shop at Super 1. Came on home and had to turn around after a couple hours and head back to town to play and sing Christmas Carols at a nursing home. Didn’t eat until after 8:00 p.m.. Very late (midnight) getting to bed because once home from town, I started trying to upload a movie I took at the hay growers meeting, that was very large (4 gigabytes). I didn’t have a jump drive to put it on to get to my co-author, John Bowen, for our APCG Yearbook paper we’re writing. John B. attended early morning meetings and, as mentioned, I went to the around noon panel discussion with a moderator (grower) and three exporter/processors, who represented 3 companies of 6, here in Ellensburg. The video came off my camera rapidly but the trip to my web site was an all evening and night operation. While we have broadband DSL, we are far enough out in the country not to have access to the very fastest lines, and that was too bad. Next time I will use my older camera without the high megapixel resolution. I awoke in the middle of the night and checked that it had made it and I downloaded it, just to be sure I could (there were two, and I started the smaller one). Once I was convinced it had worked, I sent the links to my co-author. Later today, he was able to retrieve it.
Wednesday, Dec 19 Let’s see. What happened today? Much. After sleeping in to recover from my late night’s work, I was having coffee and got a 45-minute phone call from a friend. Once that was done I rushed to leave (in the snow) for town for the Food Bank and the SAIL exercise at the Adult Activity Center. On to KVCH (hospital) for a blood draw for my INR monthly test on the blood thinner. When I left, John put the roast that we bought yesterday in the oven and it cooked slowly all the rest of the day. He made awesome gravy from the drippings and onions, baked a potato for each of us, and fixed some little green Lima beans. I used to call them butter beans when I was a kid. I looked on the web, and it is not consistent. One place said Lima Beans were the big cream-colored ones, and butter beans were the little green ones; another place said just the opposite. The can our little green ones came from called them Lima Beans and had a picture of the small green ones on the label. I’m definitely confused. This evening we have both been working on computers in opposite ends of the house. We hope the temperatures will not go as low as last night. We are scheduled for snow tomorrow.
Thursday, Dec 20 Good awakening phone call from my Dr.’s nurse that my INR was fine (2.1) and I’m okay on the same dosage for another month, when I will get another test. We worked on various projects until we had a brunch of bacon, omelet, and fried potatoes (those from an extra baked one from last night). I left after 1:00 p.m. for music in town at Dry Creek. We took music books along for the Christmas songs and one member also brought along a bunch of bells and shakers for the residents to “play” along with Jingle Bells, Silver Bells, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and other songs such as, We Wish you a Merry Christmas. My trip home was by the grocery for some supplies and to pick up 2 refills of my meds. I came home to newly received mail (more Christmas cards and gifts). Not much else tonight but really good leftovers of last night’s roast beef, and little green beans, along with biscuits tonight. Have been working on our annual newsletter most of the time since arriving home. Forgot, our new small oil heater stopped working in the back bedroom (computer room), where John does all his computing. We had bought two not more than a month ago, so we will take it back for a trade. Meanwhile, he’s using the second.
Friday, Dec 21, the Solstice. The dogs have finally figured out coming and going from the new doggie doors. Their follow-the-leader timing has to improve some as the dropping door can bonk them in the head. We don’t have our exercise class today because the Activity Center closes at noon, for the long holiday weekend. John and I are going to a Solstice Party. There were latkes (potato pancakes) made by the hostess, pumpkin bread (with a cream cheese layer) and muffins with raisins, deviled eggs, Vinman’s (local bakery) bread with cream cheese and a blueberry/ lavender compote made by the bringer, cheesy sticks, pasta with beans/carrots, and Caramel Corn (homemade in a microwave)–I need to get that recipe, or find it on line. I found it here:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Microwave-Caramel-Popcorn/
John fixed our contribution using a store-bought white clam chowder soup as a starter and added milk, pieces of cut-up baked salmon, onion, bacon, cubes of orange butternut squash, and as a celery substitute, the green outer layer of a Zucchini-like squash from our garden. (I personally think his concoction was the best thing on the table.) I always take along my fiddle, and after we eat, we then sing Sun songs, and because of the roll-over of the Mayan calendar (Doom!) the laugh is we will also sing songs of destruction (we didn’t). Today on my way to town, I was listening to the radio and they were playing, “It’s the end of the world as we know it.” (R.E.M., 1987) An explanation (sort of) of the song is here:
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1741
A video is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0GFRcFm-aY&noredirect=1
I ended up being the only instrument besides the man of the house, who played his guitar. Last year there were many more instruments brought and played around the circle. It snowed on us a lot going in and also coming home. We were late getting home. Okay, the update on this day was just finished the afternoon of 12/22. I shall tell you why in tomorrow’s post.
Saturday, Dec 22 I had a nice visit on the phone with a friend recovering more from lung complications. It was refreshing to hear his voice and know his breathing is better. When John came back in the house, we called his sister and had a great visit for 40 minutes. She had talked to us last week and told us about a recipe for Crockpot candy she heard about being on Trisha Yearwood’s website. Try it but don’t get it too hot or it will cook the peanuts. It is here:
http://www.redbookmag.com/recipes-home/tips-advice/trisha-yearwood-recipes-4
The recipe calls for white “almond bark”. This is a candy-like thing, an alternative to white chocolate). White chocolate (WC) is explained here:
http://www.essortment.com/white-chocolate-41060.html
“Bark” is made of a vegetable or palm oil concoction without cocoa butter or almonds, although having similar aspects, and when melted, used to cover, dip, or shape candy treats. White chocolate “WC” is harder to work with than the “bark” that has been developed for the candy-making purpose. WC can burn and seize (goes hard like a bad fudge). Now, where does the term “almond bark” come from? So far we haven’t found the answer but it might be related to Jordan Almonds, a type of dragée:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_almonds#Jordan_almonds
The hard outer shell or coating might be thought of as a protective bark, as the bark of a tree. The word ‘rind’ is part of the origin of this concept. Search images for Jordan almonds for some pretty pictures. Now, back to following the recipe. Peggy had trouble getting all the ingredients, but eventually found them. A lady sold her almond bark and said it was the same as white chocolate, the difference was whether you were from the American South or not, and what you called it. We now know that’s not true. So Peggy made a crock pot load – a lot – and used the paper cups – too big, she thinks. Now John is thinking about trying it. She was very happy to be successful, and so were her friends who received some.
Okay, here we are this afternoon after lunch. John has crashed on the sofa while I finish this blog so he can embellish it with links & comments, change my wording in places, and post it. He spent the morning on normal chores and cleaning off the snow from yesterday. I spent the morning trying to clean-up my Facebook account (again). When we arrived home last night, I learned from a facebook friend my identity had again been stolen. It took me most of the morning to straighten that out because I was too tired to do anything but fall in bed after midnight. I dislike facebook very much, but I don’t want to disable my account because there are a few people that’s the only way I can keep up with. Now, perhaps I can get back to issues of the day and work on the annual newsletter completion. I want it to go out before the end of the year, if at all possible. It’s already late afternoon and will be dark in less than an hour. I’m stopping now.
Hope your week was a good one.
Merry Christmas.
Nancy and John
Still on the Naneum Fan